Napoleon and his army of 100,000 arrived only to find a handful of the original inhabitants and several hundred criminals and lunatics freely roaming and plundering the streets. That night, fires sprang up all over the city. Fire swept through the city for several days and by morning it was apparent that most of the city had been consumed by the flames. Left with no choice, Napoleon sent peace proposals to Alexander, but Alexander refused to even discuss the concept of peace while the French remained on Russian soil. Napoleon was given an opportunity to evacuate Moscow by acting like he was reinforcing his brother-in-law's troops. Napoleon's plan was to march to Kaluga and Bryansk. By returning along an untraveled route, he hoped to find forage for the horses, avoid the appearance of a retreat, and eventually settle the army in winter quarters somewhere between Smolensk and Minsk. There appeared to be a good chance to reach his destination before the first frost. It was imperative to do so. The horses were not shod for heavy snow, nor had the troops been issued any winter gear. On October 31, Napoleon and the guard reached Vyuzma; Davout (his general) had cleared Borodino. One week later a heavy snow fell and, with it, the morale of the French. On icy roads it was impossible for the starving horses to pull their loads. Tired men dropped in their tracks and pushed to the side of the road, were lost forever. Artillery pieces, loot, and many of the wounded were left behind. November was an unending catastrophe for the decimated French army. Men began to fight for scraps of bread and frozen horseflesh. As the army began to fragment, there were extraordinary acts of individual heroism. Mere survival itself required unending strength of will. Many men fell and simply refused to rise again and go on. Marching out of Smolensk, the ragged, frozen and famished group of men knew that they must sooner or later fight the Russians as ...
